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Bette Midler is an American singer, songwriter, actress, comedian and producer.
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Bette Midler was born in Honolulu, where her family was one of the few Jewish families in the neighborhood. Her mother, Ruth, was a seamstress and housewife, and her father, Fred Midler, worked at a Navy base in Hawaii as a painter, and was also a house painter.
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Bette Midler attended Radford High School, in Honolulu where she was voted "Most Talkative" in 1961, and "Most Dramatic" in her senior year (class of 1963).
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After studying drama at the University of Hawaii, Midler was hired as an extra on the film adaptation of James Michener's novel “Hawaii” in 1965. She then decided to pursue her dreams of being a performer in New York City.
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After moving there, she landed her first big break in 1966 when she joined the cast of Fiddler on the Roof.
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Yesterday we saw Bette Midler in her debut role in Fiddler On The Roof, but Broadway was not where she would find her fame.
Bette took a “gig” (which is what musicians call a job), working as the entertainment at a club. There she performed with her eccentric style of comedy, dancing and amazing singing. Her pianist was Barry Manilow, who has also been our musician of the week. He wasn’t a famous singer then, and neither was Bette, but all that would soon change. |
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From her act in that club, Bette grew a following of fans that raved about her and made her famous. Barry Manilow decided she needed an album all her own, so they worked together and produced her first album, “The Diven Miss M.”
Today’s Listening Example is one of Bette Midler’s most famous songs, “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” Fun fact about this song: Idina Menzel sang this song with Kristen Chenoweth as an audition piece for the movie “Frozen.” It was a hit for Bette, and a hit for Idina as well. |
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In 1979, Bette Midler went on to prove her talents yet again as an actress.
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In her first film with a starring role, “The Rose”, Midler played a self-destructive rock star. She won an Academy Award nomination for her performance, while the film itself won two Golden Globes and a Grammy for the title song.
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Midler went on to star in other great films such as “Ruthless People” with Danny Devito and “The First Wives Club” with Diane Keaton, not to mention “Beaches” where she sang yesterday’s Listening Example, “The Wind Beneath My Wings.”
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We have learned about Bette Midler’s life growing up and how she became famous. But, what is she doing now?
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She returned to Broadway in the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly!, starring in the lead role of Dolly Gallagher Levi. Her performance received rave reviews from the critics and earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
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Midler founded the New York Restoration Project in 1995. The non-profit organization helps revitalize green spaces in low-income neighborhoods of New York City. Since it began, she and the NYRP have planted over a million trees in the city.
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On a personal note: Bette Midler has been married to artist Martin Rochus Sebastian von Haselberg since 1984, when they tied the knot at a small chapel complete with an Elvis impersonator as officiator. The couple has a daughter named Sophie, who graduated from Yale in 2008 and became an actress.
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